Queer Lit copertina

Queer Lit

Queer Lit

Di: Lena Mattheis
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A proposito di questo titolo

 Queer Lit is a podcast about LGBTQIA+* literature and culture. In each episode, literary studies researcher Lena Mattheis talks to an expert in the field of queer studies. Topics include lesbian literature, inclusive pronouns and language, gay history, trans and non-binary novels, intersectionality and favourite queer films, series or poems.

New episode every other week!

Recent transcripts here: https://lenamattheis.wordpress.com/queer-lit-transcripts/

queerlitpodcast@gmail.com
https://lenamattheis.wordpress.com/queerlit
Twitter and Instagram: @queerlitpodcast

Music by geovanebruny from PixabayLena Mattheis Arte Scienze sociali Storia e critica della letteratura
Episodi
  • “Pronouns in Two-Spirit Literature” with Jas Morgan (Queer Forms and Pronouns Series)

    “Pronouns in Two-Spirit Literature” with Jas Morgan (Queer Forms and Pronouns Series)
    Apr 14 2026
    The fantastic Jas Morgan is back for a conversation about pronouns in Two-Spirit literature! We think about how kinship is reflected in language, what role pronouns take on in translation and how they can easily be misunderstood, especially when working across cultures and languages. Our conversation is based on a dialogic chapter of Queer Forms and Pronouns, which I co-wrote with Kai Minosh Pyle.

    This conversation is part of a miniseries that accompanies my book Queer Forms and Pronouns: Gender Nonconformity in Anglophone Literature (Oxford University Press, 2026). I hope you like hearing more from your host, but not to worry: we will be back to our usual format in just a few weeks.

    References:
    Kai Minosh Pyle
    Jas Morgan’s “My Pronouns are Kiy/Kin”
    https://web.archive.org/web/20210416065231/https://aabitagiizhig.com/2016/05/13/red-rising-my-pronouns-are-kiy-kin/
    Jas Morgan’s nîtisânak
    Riot Grrrl
    Robin Wall Kimmerer
    Wahkohtowin
    Joshua Whitehead’s “A Queer Geography of Woundings”
    Billy-Ray Belcourt
    Lambda Literary Awards
    Kin (web series)
    Justin Ducharme
    Aalayna
    Ta’Kaiya Blaney
    https://jasmorgan.com/2020/10/25/sewing-circle-kin-web-series/
    @notvanishing (IG)

    Questions you should be able to respond to after listening:
    1. Why might pronouns work differently in Two-Spirit literature?
    2. What do pronouns have to do with kinship?
    3. How are pronouns connected to animacy?
    4. We speak about pronouns in translation between languages that attach gendered notions to them or not. How might this affect communication? Are pronouns gendered in your favourite language?
    5. What does Jas mean by ‘I am not a metaphor’?
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    41 min
  • “Mixing Pronouns” with Sue Lanser (Queer Forms and Pronouns Series)

    “Mixing Pronouns” with Sue Lanser (Queer Forms and Pronouns Series)
    Mar 31 2026
    Come along for a deep dive into mixed pronouns in queer, trans and nonbinary narratives with none other than Sue Lanser, your favourite narratologist’s favourite narratologist. Sue and I talk about why we might need to rethink the concept of gender disguise narratives, where we find mixed pronouns in literary histories and why mixed pronouns often become sensual in literature. My favourite bit: Sue asks me about my personal hero, the Grinch.

    This conversation is part of a miniseries that accompanies my book Queer Forms and Pronouns: Gender Nonconformity in Anglophone Literature (Oxford University Press, 2026). I hope you like hearing more from your host, but not to worry: we will be back to our usual format in just a few weeks.

    References
    Sue Lanser’s The Sexuality of History
    Sue Lanser’s Narrative Theory Unbound
    Sue Lanser’s “Trans-forming Narratology” Narrative 32.2 (2024)
    Jeanette Winterson’s Written on the Body
    Le Roman de Silence
    Michel de Montaigne’s Journal de Voyage
    Margaret Cavendish’s Assaulted and Pursued Chastity
    Lyly’s Galatea
    Chevalièr(e) d’Éon
    Alex Myers’ Revolutionary
    Deborah Samson
    Jenny Fran Davis’ Dykette
    Isaac Fellman’s Dead Collections
    Spiel, Katta, Os Keyes, and Pınar Barlas. 2019. ‘Patching Gender: Non-Binary Utopias in HCI’. Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, May 2, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1145/3290607.3310425.
    The Grinch
    Dr Seuss
    Jim Carrey
    Benedict Cumberbatch
    Les Feinberg
    Maggie Nelson
    Harry Dodge
    Jen Manion
    Dean Spade

    Questions you should be able to respond to after listening:
    1. What role does narrative agency play in the difference between external and intrinsic pronoun ascription?
    2. Why does Susan suggest that we need to revisit Shakespeare’s and other’s gender disguise narratives?
    3. Susan mentions how characters that are perceived as masculine but use she/her are much more frequently ridiculed than characters viewed as feminine who use he/him. Why do you think that is?
    4. How has feminism expanded what ‘she/her’ can mean?
    5. How does mixing pronouns do similar or different work from singular they?
    6. Why does the Grinch, according to Lena, have big they energy?
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    46 min
  • “Ambiguous Pronouns” with Susan Stryker (Queer Forms and Pronouns Series)

    “Ambiguous Pronouns” with Susan Stryker (Queer Forms and Pronouns Series)
    Mar 17 2026
    It was an incredible honour to have THE Susan Stryker join me for a chat about ambiguous pronouns, trans literature and linguistic creativity. Susan’s wealth of knowledge on pronouns across languages and literary history was incredibly enriching and allowed me to speak about some of my favourite examples of ambiguous pronoun use in literature.

    This conversation is part of a miniseries that accompanies my book Queer Forms and Pronouns: Gender Nonconformity in Anglophone Literature (Oxford University Press, 2026). I hope you like hearing more from your host, but not to worry: we will be back to our usual format in just a few weeks.

    References:
    Susan Stryker’s “My Words to Victor Frankenstein above the Village of Chamounix”
    Susan Stryker’s Transgender History
    Susan Stryker, Stephen Wittle, Aren Aizura (eds) The Transgender Studies Reader
    Susan Stryker’s Changing Gender: The History and Future of a Concept (August 2026)
    Sara Taylor’s The Lauras
    Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s The Sleeping Hermaphrodite (1620)
    Teagan Bradway
    Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer (2019)
    Lal Zimman
    Rivers Solomon
    Aphra Behn’s “To The Fair Clorinda” and “The Widow Ranter”
    Thomas(ine) Hall
    Nathaniel Bacon
    Mel Y. Chen
    Andrea Lawlor’s Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl
    Andrea Gibson’s “Your Life”

    Questions you should be able to respond to after listening:
    1. Which pronouns are ambiguous when it comes to gender in English? Which ones are ambiguous in your first or favourite language?
    2. What creates ambiguity when we use pronouns? How might this ambiguity be productive?
    3. Susan explains why gendered pronouns in English function in an unusual way compared to other languages. What is something new you learned about this?
    4. We speak about why literature can teach us something about pronoun use that we might overlook when focusing on grammar. What is that?
    5. Can you name one of the examples of ambiguous pronoun use in literature we discuss?
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    48 min
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